GHG Mitigation from Diversion of Forest Biomass Waste

1. GHG Mitigation from Diversion of Forest Biomass Waste Tom Christofk, Air Pollution Control Officer Placer County Air Pollution Control District 2012 Annual Meeting of the Biomass Power Association/California Biomass Energy Alliance Las Vegas February 29, 2012

2. Agenda • Placer County Forested Landscape • Biomass for Energy Demonstration Project • Biomass for Energy Greenhouse Gas Offset Protocol • CEQA Mitigation Project Example • Other Forest Related Initiatives

3. Placer County

4. Placer County Landscape • Sacramento Valley to Lake Tahoe • 550,000 acres of forested land (> 50% of total county land),including three National Forests • Oak woodlands in valley, mixed conifer in foothills and Sierra • Numerous wildland-urban interfaces • Heavy fuel loads throughout forested landscape from decades of fire suppression • History of major wildfires in National Forests • Gap, Ponderosa, Star, Ralston, American River Complex, Angora – over 60,000 acres • Concerted effort for forest fuel hazard reduction thinning • By-product -- excess waste biomass

5. Wildfire Impacts Ralston Wildfire, Sept 2006 Angora Wildfire, June 2007 No treatment prior to fire Fuel treatment prior to fire

6. Tahoe Forest Thinning Massive South Shore fuels reduction project approved January 13, 2012 Tahoe Daily Tribune SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has approved a more than 10,000 acre project to reduce wildfire risk to communities at Lake Tahoe's South Shore and restore the health of the area's forests, according to a Friday statement.The South Shore Fuel Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project will thin trees and brush on national forest system land from Cascade Lake to the Nevada stateline. The project will take approximately eight years.The project is designed to provide defensible space, reduce the risk of high intensity fire and create forests better able to resist drought, insects and disease, while restoring stream environment zones, meadows and aspen stands, according to the statement. Thinning by crews with chain saws, removing trees using tracked and rubber-tired equipment and prescribed fire are included in the project.The Forest Service plans to move forward with hand thinning as soon as conditions allow. Mechanical thinning will undergo permitting through the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board before starting. “The fuel reduction efforts outlined in the South Shore project are critical to protecting our communities from wildfire,” said LTBMU Forest Supervisor Nancy Gibson in the statement. “We will continue to work closely with the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, and our goal is to begin implementing the project this summer.”

7. Positive Effects of Fuel Treatments Cone Wildfire, Lassen National Forest, Sept 2002 Thinned Fire Un-thinned

8. Positive Effects of Fuel Treatments Wallow Wildfire, Apache National Forest, Arizona, May 2011, 500,000 acres, largest wildfire in Arizona history Fire Fuel Treatment Thinning

9. Existing Piles Prepared for Burning Tahoe National Forest

10. Woody Biomass Wastes

11. Open Burning Cost to chip and transport biomass to bioenergy facility Price paid by bioenergy facility for biomass fuel >

12. Air Emissions Benefits 1 MWh electricity

13. Fire Threat Source: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP), prepared for the “National Fire Plan”, V05_1, 2005.

14. Open Burn vs Renewable Energy Open Pile Burn VS Controlled Energy Generation Grind and Haul Biomass Waste

15. Demonstration Project 60 miles

16. Criteria Air Pollutants Results from 2008 biomass energy project that processed 6,800 BDT biomass from thinning project on USFS Tahoe National Forest American River District 60% 99% 99% 97%

17. Greenhouse Gases 0.4 tons CO2 reduced per 1 dry ton biomass

18. GHG Cost Effectiveness Demonstration Project Conditions Demo Project

19. Biomass for Energy Project Greenhouse Gas Protocol • Utilize excess biomass wastes for energy as alternative to baseline business as usual (open burning) • Monetary support for biomass processing and transport to energy facility • Greenhouse gas benefits result from: • Avoided methane from open pile burning • Renewable biomass energy displaces fossil fuels • Endorsed by: • California Board of Forestry • California Air Districts, including San Joaquin, South Coast, Mendocino, Butte, Feather River • Applicable for use to provide offsets for CEQA mitigation purposes • Follows format of the Climate Action Reserve’s Livestock Manure GHG Offset Protocol

20. Protocol Accounting Biomass for Energy Project Baseline, Business as Usual Excess Biomass Operations at Biomass Generation Site Biomass Processing Fossil Fuel Engines : CO2 Uncontrolled Open Burning CH4, CO2 In-field Decay CH4 Biomass Transport Fossil Fuel Engines : CO2 Baseline Energy Supply Fossil Fuel Combustion : CO2 Energy Production Energy Recovery Biomass Conversion : CH4, CO2 GHG Baseline Energy GHG Open Burn GHG Decay GHG Reduction = + + – – GHG Biomass Transport GHG Biomass Processing – GHG Biomass Energy

21. Project Implementation Conduct Project using Biomass Waste for Energy GHG Offset Protocol Project Proponent Needs GHG CEQA Mitigation District Verification Purchase GHG Mitigation, Held in District Escrow Mitigation Credit Bank Emission and Cost Adjustment Select GHG Biomass Waste For Energy Mitigation Project District Issues GHG Mitigation Credit Project Implementer is Paid

22. Identification of Biomass Energy Project Opportunities • Identify current and future management projects which will generate excess waste biomass • Land managers -- USFS, Fire Agencies, BLM, private forest products industry, etc. • Biomass plant fuel managers • Determine amount and cost of available excess waste biomass • Conduct biomass projects to generate GHG offsets • Coordinate biomass generator, processing and transport contractors, biomass facility • Determine GHG offsets using Biomass Waste for Energy Offset Protocol

23. Example Project Needing CEQA Mitigation GHG Source: Natural gas fired boilers to produce high pressure steam used for oil production/recovery from diatomaceous earth *Fuel sector likely to be under CARB Cap in 2015

24. Other Placer County / Placer Air District Initiatives • Support the establishment of state-of-the-art, distributed generation biomass facilities • Tahoe Region Combined 2 – 3 MW Heat & Power (US DOE Grant) 30,000 BDT/yr sustainable woody biomass resources within 30 mile radius • Foresthill Region Bio-Methane Fuel Initiative (CA Energy Com Grant) 50,000 BDT/yr sustainable woody biomass resources available within 30 mile radius • Advocating for a Wildfire Hazard Reduction Adder as a component of the Feed-In-Tariff rulemaking by the California Public Utilities Commission (< 3 MW facilities) • Quantifying benefits derived from implementation of the Placer County Conservation Plan (PCCP) – Oak Woodlands Management and Preservation • Funding research with USFS to evaluate the GHG benefits of forest fuel thinning -- avoided wildfire and enhanced forest growth

25. Development of California Air District Offset Exchange • Joint effort of several air districts • Leverage decades of experience with Emission Reduction Credits (ERC’s) for criteria pollutants • Uniquely positioned to offer assistance to businesses, others • Keep local investments, jobs, and benefits in California • Complementary to state cap-and-trade program • Fill a niche for GHG mitigation for CEQA and NEPA; work to expand uses in future

26. Purpose of Exchange • Goal is to provide a trusted source of high quality California-based greenhouse gas offsets to keep investments, jobs, and benefits in-state, through a California Air Pollution Control Officer’s Association (CAPCOA) developed and operated Exchange. The focus will be to provide credible mitigation options for project developers. Financial resources invested in-state will help create local jobs, and realize needed air pollution co-benefits from projects in California.

27. Core Values and Operating Principles of the CAPCOA Exchange • Quality California offsets • Collaboration • Integrity • Security • Transparency • Low transaction costs • Excellent customer service • Protocol development

28. Placer County Air Pollution Control District Award • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Recognizes Outstanding & Innovative Efforts to Achieve Cleaner Air • 2011 Clean Air Excellence Award for • Forest Resource Sustainability in Placer County • We have processed and transported 15,000 BDT’s of waste to biomass energy facilities which has fueled the generation of 15,000 MW hours of renewable electricity, enough to power more than 1,500 homes for one year. • This Project was chosen “for its impact, innovation and replicability”